Dad's home!

Dad was gone part of this week, so we tried to stay busy.

Monday we went to open gym at Gymboree. It's time they set aside when people who take their classes can come and just play on all the equipment. I loved it! When we signed up for my Gymboree class, they gave us two free art classes, so Tuesday we went to one of those. I didn't like it as much as my regular class, which is more physical, so I kept trying to run out of the art room to climb on the stuff in the area we're usually in. Now we know I signed up for the right class! Thursday we went to that class again and I had a great time.

Wednesday we went to the Austin Children's Museum. We hadn't gone in a while because last time we were there I wanted to press the elevator buttons the whole time, which was frustrating for Mom. This time though, I really engaged with everything they had there. I found a cool toy barn with little animals, a train exhibit I really enjoyed, an exhibit where I put balls in little holes and then when I turned a crank it played music, a toy kitchen, a place where I put milk bottles in a crate and sent them down a line, a fish that I put balls in, and a setup where I put different shaped nuts and bolts in holes that were those same shapes. It was great and we were sad to have to go home for lunch and a nap at the end.

Friday Dad took me to the Parenting Center at the J. It was nice to spend some time with him after he got back from his trip.

Friday night our friend Zhenya came over. Instead of hanging around with her, Mom and Dad left - they went to our friend Prabhakar's wedding. Hazel and I stayed behind to keep Zhenya company. I had a great time reading my books and eating a nice dinner while Zhenya tried to manage Hazel, who is teething and has been extra screamy the past few days. When Mom and Dad came home from their very fun night out, Zhenya and Hazel were worn out. They were both asleep on the bed in Hazel's room! We are all very glad Zhenya was able to come hang out with us.

We also went to the playground at the school up the street a lot in the afternoons this week. The weather is amazing here right now, so we are trying to take advantage of it. I am starting to enjoy slides more and have been testing out my balancing skills by walking on a concrete retaining wall an inch or two off the ground.

Yesterday we went to a fundraiser called "Mac and Cheese Smackdown" at Central Market. The best part was we ran into my friend Benjamin and his mom and dad. His dad saved the day by sharing some of their hard-to-come-by macaroni with us. It was nice seeing them.

Mom and I had a chance to go out with my bike trailer today. We went down a couple of hills and had a great time.

Hazel is getting really fast at walking around in her toy and is still enjoying rice cereal. She grunts and gets really mad if Mom isn't quick enough with the next bite. Because of her sore gums, she is having a hard time sleeping so both she and Mom are tired! We all hope Hazel feels back to normal soon.